Undergraduate Students

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Acceleration Consortium

Geoexchange

Joe's Basketball Diaries

UTogether

Artificial Intelligence

Entrepreneurship

University Health Network

The ��ϲ�� marked many memorable milestones across the three campuses in 2023.

From co-hosting an inaugural All-Nations Powwow to guiding the future of artificial intelligence and advocating for social justice around the world, members of the ��ϲ�� community and their partners made an impact well beyond the classroom in 2023.

And photographers at ��ϲ�� News and elsewhere at the university were often on hand to capture the action.

Here are just a few of the special moments that shaped ��ϲ�� this year:

(photo by David Lee)

The Landmark Project has transformed the historic core of ��ϲ��’s St. George campus around King’s College Circle into a greener, more accessible and pedestrian-friendly space.

Front Campus is also now home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system, which will generate renewable energy and store surplus heat in the summer for use in the cold winter months. The system will save the university an estimated 15,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually – a key part of ��ϲ��’s climate-positive plans and among the reasons it was recently named the most sustainable university in the world.

(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Following Geoffrey Hinton’s departure from Google, ��ϲ�� News travelled to his home in London, England, for an in-depth conversation with the ��ϲ�� University Professor Emeritus of computer science about the dangers posed by unchecked advances in AI, the role he and others played in creating the technology and the importance of responsible development.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Abby-Gayle Isadora Allen celebrated completing the Support, Engage, Experience ��ϲ�� Mississauga program this year by dancing beside Juno Award-winning singer Liberty Silver during the graduation ceremony.

The innovative program aims to make university education more accessible to Black youth who are underrepresented at Canada’s post-secondary schools. Students in Grade 11 and 12 earn a university half-credit and two Ontario Secondary School Diploma credits, have a co-op experience and are mentored by a senior ��ϲ�� undergraduate student while simultaneously completing their high school semester.

Similar programs operate at ��ϲ�� Scarborough and the St. George campus, which introduced SEE ��ϲ��, the inaugural version of this access program, four years ago in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board.

(photo by Luis Mora)

Jaivet Ealom, a ��ϲ�� student, author, a member of the persecuted Rohingya minority and refugee advocate, shared his harrowing escape to Canada in ��ϲ�� News and ��ϲ�� Magazine.

Ealom fled his home country of Myanmar in 2013. Before arriving at ��ϲ��, he had travelled through six countries and three continents seeking asylum – surviving a near-drowning and multiple detentions along the way.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

��ϲ�� hosted the 14^th annual Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) conference in May, which brought together global scholars, artists, Elders and independent professionals working in the field of Indigenous Studies. The event covered themes from food sovereignty to contemporary Indigenous cinema and language revitalization.

(photo by Polina Teif)

Brokoslaw Laschowski, a research scientist at the KITE Research Institute, University Health Network, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and his team are developing AI-powered wearable technology for medical applications.

Known as the “bionic professor,” Laschowski is passionate about developing assistive technology such as bionic prosthetic legs and exoskeletons to help individuals with physical disabilities.

In his spare time, he’s helping students from Ukraine flee the Russian invasion and war to come to ��ϲ�� to continue their studies.

(photo by Chai Chen)

Charlotte Wargniez graduated from ��ϲ�� Scarborough at the age of 17 with a major in environmental geoscience and a minor in applied climatology.

She wrapped up her degree with many impressive accolades – including the Rose Sheinin Award, given to the highest-performing woman student in science across ��ϲ��’s three campuses and an excellence and leadership award from ��ϲ�� Scarborough's department of physical and environmental sciences.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

The Acceleration Consortium at ��ϲ��, an institutional strategic initiative, was awarded a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to revolutionize the speed and impact of materials discovery – all with a focus on building a sustainable future.

The funding – the largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university – supports the consortium’s work on “self-driving labs” that combine AI, robotics and advanced computing to discover new materials and molecules at a fraction of the usual time and cost.

With a strong plan of equity, diversity and inclusion guiding project implementation and research design, the initiative will commercialize ethically designed technologies and materials to benefit society and train today’s scientists with the skills they need to advance the emerging field of accelerated materials discovery. It will also allow the consortium to examine critical issues regarding the application of the technology, including from environmental and Indigenous perspectives.

(photo by Polina Teif)

Niloofar Ganji, a PhD student in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, is changing the world in more ways than one.

Ganji not only conducts groundbreaking research on a critical condition affecting premature infants – she is deeply committed to activism for social change in her home country of Iran.

As an executive member of ��ϲ�� Students for a Free Iran (UTSFI), she has organized many events at the university in support of the anti-regime movement in Iran. She hopes to use her knowledge and expertise in pediatrics and healthcare to work for the Iranian people one day.

(photo supplied)

When a catastrophic series of earthquakes hit Türkiye and Syria earlier this year, students from the Turkish Students Association (pictured) at ��ϲ�� Scarborough rallied together to collect funds and in-kind donations on campus.

They were among the many ��ϲ�� community members across the three campuses who pitched in to help raise awareness and funds in the wake of the disaster.

(photo by Nithya Thayaal)

��ϲ�� celebrated the graduation of more than 21,000 students from the university’s three campuses in 2023 – including the ��ϲ�� Scarborough student pictured above.

Friends and family looked on as many of those graduates crossed the stage inside Convocation Hall during convocation ceremonies held in spring and fall.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Peter Ma, an undergraduate math and physics student in the Faculty of Arts & Science, is dedicated to searching for life beyond our planet by drawing on his passion for science – and artificial intelligence in particular.

He became the youngest member of a team of international researchers at the University of California, Berkeley who are searching the stars for extraterrestrial intelligence and was lead author on a paper published earlier this year in the journal Nature Astronomy.

From left to right: William Lou, Joseph Wong, Sam Ibrahim and Aleer Aleer-Leek (photo by Polina Teif)

In the first episode of the second season of the award-winning series Joe’s Basketball Diaries, host Joseph Wong sits down with Will Lou, writer and co-host of the Raptors Show podcast, Sam Ibrahim, a business leader, philanthropist and major supporter of ��ϲ�� Scarborough, and Aleer Aleer-Leek, a ��ϲ�� student and Varsity Blues basketball player, to talk about community and sports.

In future episodes, Wong, ��ϲ��’s vice-president, international, and a professor in the department of political science and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and guests take the conversation beyond the court as they discuss topics ranging from sustainability to inclusion.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Studying at ��ϲ�� gave Alicia Corbiere an opportunity to re-engage with her culture when she began learning from Indigenous professors and studying Anishinaabemowin. She also connected with her community by joining First Nations House and the Indigenous Students’ Association.

After graduating with a degree in criminology and Indigenous studies from the Faculty of Arts & Science in the spring, Corbiere went on to study Indigenous law at ��ϲ��’s Faculty of Law.

(photo by Polina Teif)

The leafy, green lettuce that many members of the ��ϲ�� community are eating in their salads, sandwiches and hamburgers is not just locally grown – but grown on the St. George campus by a student-led startup in partnership with ��ϲ�� Food Services.

Lyrata co-founders Leo Hua (pictured), Carol Lin and Adnan Sharif say they are bringing innovations to the field of sustainability – including 3D-printed soil.

��ϲ�� to improve safety at Bahen Centre as it reopens

lanthierj — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

��ϲ�� to improve safety at Bahen Centre as it reopens

lanthierj Sun, 09/29/2019 - 00:00

Topic

Health and Wellness Centre

Faculty & Staff

Graduate Students

��ϲ�� Mississauga

��ϲ�� Scarborough

Subheadline

University to set up memorial after student death

The Bahen Centre for Information Technology will reopen Sunday at 11 a.m. following the death of a student on Friday night.

“We are taking immediate steps to improve safety at the Bahen Centre and we will continue to work on permanent changes,” said Sandy Welsh, vice-provost, students at the ��ϲ��.

“The safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities. We’ve listened to concerns about the building and are putting in place measures that will improve safety.”

The university has been working with the building’s architects since last spring to design permanent changes that will enhance safety in Bahen. Construction begins Sunday to put temporary barriers in place, with installation of long-term changes expected to get underway later this fall.

“We mourn the loss of our student, and we are here to support our community,” Welsh said. “Our thoughts are with the student’s family, friends, fellow students, staff and instructors.”

Once family members confirm their wishes, more information about the student may be shared.

Counsellors and chaplains will continue to be available Sunday until 4 p.m. at the Health and Wellness Centre in the Koffler Student Services Centre (first floor, room 111), in addition to regular services.

“We recognize that many people in our community would like to pay tribute and mourn the loss of one of our students,” Welsh said. “When the Bahen Centre reopens, members of our community who wish to pay respects will have the opportunity to do so and cards to share messages of sympathy and concern will be provided.”

Feeling distressed? Find someone to talk to right now – and if there is an immediate risk, call 911.

Round-the-clock support

Free 24/7 support is available outside the university. Students, staff and faculty can speak to a trained crisis worker at any hour of the day.

Good 2 Talk Student Helpline 1-866-925-5454. Professional counselling, information and referrals for mental health, addictions and well-being.
Gerstein Crisis Centre 416-929-5200
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto 416-408-HELP (4357)
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at 250 College Street
Anishnawbe Health Toronto Mental Health Crisis Line 416-360-0486
My SSP for ��ϲ�� Students 1-844-451-9700. Immediate counselling support is available in 35 languages and ongoing support in 146 languages.
Appointed faculty and staff have access to the Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP), offered through Homewood Health, online and by phone at 1-800-663-1142

The following are some of the services available to students on all three campuses:

St. George campus: Health and Wellness Centre (416-978-8030), located at Koffler Student Services
��ϲ�� Scarborough: Health & Wellness Centre 416-287-7065
��ϲ�� Mississauga: Health & Counselling Centre 905-828-5255

Students tackle impact of climate change at ��ϲ�� Climate Impacts Hackathon

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 06 May 2024 16:44:57 +0000

Students tackle impact of climate change at ��ϲ�� Climate Impacts Hackathon

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 05/06/2024 - 12:44

Cutline

Students, instructors and organizers participate in the inaugural Climate Impacts Hackathon (photo by Milan Ilnyckyj, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED)

Chris Sasaki

Topic

Institutional Strategic Initiative

Climate Positive Energy

Data Sciences Institute

Climate Change

Subheadline

Teams of undergraduate and graduate students grappled with problems that ranged from altering irrigation practices in Sudan to adapting snow-clearing plans in Ottawa

In the wake of Toronto’s warmest winter on record, students at the ��ϲ�� recently gathered for the inaugural ��ϲ�� Climate Impacts Hackathon.

The event asked students to tackle several challenges brought by a warming planet: How should the City of Ottawa adapt its snow clearing plan in response to increased precipitation caused by our warming atmosphere? How should irrigation practices in Sudan change in response to higher temperatures and reduced rainfall? And where should new cooling stations – swimming pools, libraries, community centres, shopping malls – be located in an increasingly sweltering City of Toronto?

Participants included undergraduate and graduate students from a range of natural science and engineering disciplines, as well as from the humanities and social sciences. They were divided into teams and competed for prizes.

The hackathon was led by Paul Kushner, a professor of Earth, atmospheric and planetary physics in the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science; and Karen Smith, an associate professor, teaching stream, in the department of physical and environmental sciences (DPES) at ��ϲ�� Scarborough. Co-organizers included Michael Morris, a PhD candidate in the department of physics, and Francisco Camacho, a masters of environmental science student at DPES.

The event was hosted by the department of physics and the DPES; sponsors included Climate Positive Energy (CPE) – a ��ϲ�� institutional strategic initiative – the Centre for Climate Science and Engineering (CSE) and the Cosmic Future Initiative.

The event kicked off with a wide-ranging discussion from a panel of climate experts with diverse perspectives.

Steve Easterbrook, director of the School of the Environment in the Faculty of Arts & Science, spoke about how climate models work and why we can trust them. Lisa MacTavish, project lead in resilience, climate resilience policy and research for the City of Toronto, shared how the city uses climate projections to manage infrastructure and crisis planning. And Daniel Posen, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, talked about his expertise at the intersection of climate change and engineering.

To develop their solutions, students used the ��ϲ�� Climate Downscaling Workflow (UTCDW) which includes the UTCDW Guidebook developed by Morris, Smith and Kushner, and the UTCDW Survey, a project design tool. The UTCDW was developed with the support of the CSE, CPE and the Data Sciences Institute, another ��ϲ�� institutional strategic initiative.

Climate models or simulations typically work on a global scale; the UTCDW is designed to help researchers “downscale” what the models do in order to understand how smaller regions and even individual cities are being affected by climate change. The resulting projections can then inform decisions on a local level.

“In our proposal for support to develop these tools, we committed to holding this hackathon to roll them out,” says Kushner. “The intent is to encourage a better understanding of climate change impacts on different domains of application in an atmosphere of fun engagement and community cohort building.”

First prize was awarded to a team that tackled the cooling centre challenge. Using the downscaling tool, the team made detailed projections using temperature and humidity data. They considered vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, refugees and the underhoused; and they factored in education and income levels.

After surveying the current locations of the city’s cooling centres, the team came up with recommendations for six new centres located in areas that are currently underserved.

“We were very pleased and impressed at how far the student participants got in their analysis – how they creatively overcame technical and conceptual obstacles, and how they maintained a constructive and positive attitude as they grappled with the serious issues of climate change,” Kushner says.

��ϲ�� undergraduate students explore the use of AI to treat speech disfluency

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

��ϲ�� undergraduate students explore the use of AI to treat speech disfluency

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 02/26/2024 - 09:00

Cutline

Assistant Professor Michael Guerzhoy, top left, meets virtually with a team of undergraduate students who are developing a reinforcement learning-based system to help clinicians predict medication outcomes and adjust dosage accordingly (image courtesy of Michael Guerzhoy)

Selah Katona

Topic

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

Mental Health

Research & Innovation

Artificial intelligence, including machine learning systems, could help mental health clinicians optimize treatments for speech disfluency, or interruptions in the regular flow of speech.

Michael Guerzhoy, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the division of engineering science and the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the ��ϲ��’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and a team of undergraduate students are developing a “reinforcement-learning-based” system that uses machine-learning algorithms to help clinicians predict medication outcomes and adjust dosage accordingly.

By contrast, many clinicians currently adjust medications based on expensive and sparse observations, making it difficult to identify if a specific drug is working optimally. That’s because patients respond to medication differently and its effects can be subtle or only visible over a long period of time. The effects can also be difficult to distinguish from other factors affecting patient behaviours.

Guerzhoy says complex symptoms like speech disfluency – characterized by chronic and repeated problems with continuous speech – can be particularly challenging to treat.

“Studies show that there is a correlation between mental health conditions like anxiety and depression and speech disfluency,” he says. “I believe that patient care can be substantially improved in situations where low-cost frequent observations are possible through making use of reinforcement learning systems to help prescribe and adjust medications.”

The team outlined their research in a recent paper presented at the Machine Learning for Cognitive and Mental Health Workshop at the Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

The first component of the system features a module that detects and evaluates speech disfluency on a large data set. The second is a reinforcement learning algorithm that automatically sources and recommends medication combinations. To support the two modules, the team built a plausible patient-simulation system.

Guerzhoy compared this system to the idea of a computer playing chess. “We all know that computers are excellent at playing chess,” he says. “Our hope is that these computer-based reinforcement learning models will help clinicians become sort of chess grandmasters in their field.”

By exploring the potential of automating and fine-tuning medication regimes for patients, the team hopes to provide a pathway to improve the way we treat mental health. Harnessing AI to pick up on small changes in behaviour in more frequent increments would give clinicians another tool in their toolkit, says Guerzhoy, especially since the high cost of sessions is a significant factor in a patient’s treatment.

Guerzhoy emphasized the crucial role played by the team of undergraduate students, which included: Michael Akzam, Micol Altomare, Lauren Altomare, Nimit Amikumar Bhanshali, Kaison Cheung, Jiacheng Chen, Andreas Constas, Pavlos Constas, Vhea He, Aditya Khan, Asad Khan, Heraa Murqi, Matthew Honorio Oliveira, Youssef Rachad, Vikram Rawal and Najma Sultani – all undergraduate students at ��ϲ�� – and Carrie Chen from Cornell University.

“Having such a large team of undergraduate students involved that are passionate about the research was essential.”

��ϲ�� Engineering program introduces Black high school students to STEM careers

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 20:48:52 +0000

��ϲ�� Engineering program introduces Black high school students to STEM careers

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 02/12/2024 - 15:48

Cutline

Jadesola Babalola-Lucas, 16, explored her passion for engineering during ��ϲ�� Engineering's Blueprint program last summer (supplied image)

Safa Jinje

Topic

Black

Outreach

Subheadline

The free Blueprint program, open to students who have completed Grades 10 or 11, runs for four weeks during the summer and includes workshops throughout the year

Jadesola Babalola-Lucas, 16, has felt an affinity for math and science since she was in elementary school, but it was not until the summer of 2020 that she discovered her passion for engineering.

“I was stuck at home because of COVID-19 and watching a lot of TV, especially the Smithsonian Channel,” says Babalola-Lucas, who is now in Grade 11. “And I kid you not, I had an epiphany watching Planes That Changed the World.”

She was struck by aeronautical feats involved in the design of aircrafts such as the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest crewed aircraft with air-breathing engines, and the way the engineers overcame their challenges with creativity.

“I began to understand how interdisciplinary engineering really is, and it was at that moment that I realized engineers really do make the world go round,” says Babalola-Lucas. “Who wouldn’t want to be a part of something that big?”

A few years later, Babalola-Lucas stumbled upon a posting for Blueprint, an academic enrichment program run by the ��ϲ��’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering for Black high school students who are passionate about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). She could not pass up the opportunity to apply and step closer to her goal of studying either materials science or mechanical engineering, and then pursuing graduate studies in aerospace engineering.

The free, four-week Engineering Outreach program, which is taking applications for this summer until March 24, introduces students who have just finished Grades 10 and 11 to the engineering design process. Through course offerings, hands-on activities and collaborative projects, participants apply what they have learned to create innovative solutions for global issues.

Students are also connected with mentors, who are current undergraduate engineering students – some of whom have gone through the Blueprint program themselves. The mentors help participants understand the day-to-day experience of studying STEM subjects in university.

Blueprint students continue their engagement with ��ϲ�� Engineering over the next school year through two programs – Prepare for Grade 11 students and My Academic Planning Sessions (MAPS) for Grade 12 students. From October through March, weekly virtual sessions guide the prospective university students through the obstacles they may face during their transitions from high school to university.

Additionally, Blueprint participants who are accepted into a ��ϲ�� Engineering undergraduate program are eligible to receive one of five fully funded entrance scholarships that is renewable for four years.

“Blueprint allows Black students to meet successful individuals with similar racial and academic backgrounds. We do this by inviting Black STEM professionals and current engineering students as guest speakers over the summer and yearlong engagement,” says Cassandra Abraham, a co-ordinator at Engineering Outreach and Blueprint director.

“This representation can be empowering, instilling a sense of belonging and motivating students to pursue STEM careers.”

Students had opportunities to code robots in the Mechatronics and Automation course (photo by Shenile Ellis)

The program is structured to facilitate connection among peers. Students are initially divided into groups based on their hobbies and interests – information that is collected during the onboarding process – to encourage them to communicate with each other and form friendships, says Abraham.

When Shenile Ellis, 17, first applied to Blueprint, the then-Grade 11 student thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about different engineering disciplines.

While she was already interested in mechanical engineering because she enjoyed 3D modelling and seeing projects come to life, she was keen to meet other Black students who were interested in STEM and get a glimpse of what it is like to learn on a university campus.

“I wasn’t sure I would get in, but when I did, I realized I should never count myself out,” Ellis says. “One of the Blueprint leaders always told us that we were there for a reason and that we are all capable.”

For Christine Martins-Ezeifeaku, 17, some of the most memorable moments from the summer were the hands-on activities that were a part of the two courses: Engineering and Human Health, and Mechatronics and Automation.

“In the biomedical engineering lab, we got to do many things we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do in a typical high school experience,” Martins-Ezeifeaku says. “We got to diagnose sickle cell anemia and create E. coli bacteria.

“Getting to code the robots in the mechatronics lab and seeing them move after we finished was also an amazing experience.”

Martins-Ezeifeaku, who has always gravitated towards working with computers and sees herself studying computer engineering or computer science at university in the fall, says she knows how important it is to see people like herself in the technology field.

“In Grade 10, I took a computer science course that was taught by a teacher who is a Black woman and I was surprised at first because I wasn’t expecting her,” she says. “I loved that class; it really sparked my interest.

“Everyone who has helped me work towards the technology field has been really encouraging.”

As part of a month-long engineering design challenge, Blueprint participants were placed in groups and tasked with designing a solution to a client’s problem. This culminated with a presentation in front of judges, ��ϲ�� Engineering Dean Chris Yip, graduate students and family members at the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

“I really enjoyed the project because it allowed me to work on my presentation and teamwork skills,” says Ellis. “The experience also gave us experience that we could use in a first-year engineering design course.”

Babalola-Lucas, meanwhile, was part of a team tasked to create a product that repelled locusts on a farm in Jamaica. Together, they designed and built an ultrasonic 40 kHz speaker with a high-enough frequency to disrupt the locusts, but too high for humans to hear – so it didn’t affect human quality of life or wildlife.

“It was really innovative for us, and we ended up winning the competition, which was an extraordinary moment for me,” Babalola-Lucas says. “The entire experience was also an important lesson because I learned that no engineer works alone. You need to know how to work with anyone and everyone. You need to know how to collaborate. Blueprint taught me that from day one.

“I think any Black student who knows they love STEM should join Blueprint. You’re not only going to be exposed to the different disciplines within engineering, but you’re also going to experience a taste of campus life and learn how to study like a university student. You won’t regret it.” 

‘A win for students’: ��ϲ�� acquires 20 per cent of privately owned CampusOne residence

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:24:56 +0000

‘A win for students’: ��ϲ�� acquires 20 per cent of privately owned CampusOne residence

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 02/07/2024 - 12:24

Cutline

(all photos by Lisa Logan Photography)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Operations & Real Estate Partnerships

Subheadline

The deal enables ��ϲ�� to place students directly in CampusOne and offer them residence programming and supports

In a deal that immediately adds as many as 890 beds to the university’s student housing stock, the ��ϲ�� has purchased a 20 per cent stake in the privately owned CampusOne residence located adjacent to the St. George campus.

��ϲ�� acquired the equity share from Knightstone Capital Management for $55 million.

While CampusOne was already affiliated with ��ϲ��, the ownership stake means the university can now place students directly in the 25-storey building on College Street (students previously needed to apply to CampusOne). ��ϲ�� will also be able to influence residence programming and support services so they further align with those of the university’s existing residences, as well as its policies and procedures.

Scott Mabury, ��ϲ��’s vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, said the deal potentially increases the number of beds in its portfolio by nine per cent, helping it to meet the rapidly rising demand for student housing.

“Not only will this acquisition allow ��ϲ�� to better meet its first-year residence guarantee for fall 2024 in a residence directly adjacent to campus, it does so without the long lead time required to build a new residence – and without the costs and resources that entails,” Mabury said.

“For our students, staying in a residence operated by ��ϲ�� and programmed by our Student Life people is important and desirable. This is a win for students, and therefore a win for the university.”

Mabury estimated the deal saves ��ϲ�� at least $200 million compared to constructing a similar-sized residence from scratch.

“We paid 20 per cent to have [priority] access to the whole thing – all 890 beds. If we were building them ourselves, we would be spending at least a quarter of a billion dollars,” Mabury said. “I can’t overstate how good an outcome this is.”

The acquisition is one of several steps taken by ��ϲ�� to address the growing demand for student housing on its three campuses.

Less than a kilometre away from CampusOne, at the corner of Spadina and Sussex Avenues, is Oak House, a new 23-storey residence that will house 508 students and is scheduled to open in fall 2024.

��ϲ�� Scarborough, meanwhile, opened Harmony Commons last year – a 746-bed residence dedicated to first-year undergraduate students that meets Passive House standards for energy efficiency. And ��ϲ�� Mississauga is moving to build a new student housing complex on Residence Road, near its Oscar Peterson Hall and Schreiberwood residences.

Owen McCartney, director of asset management for ��ϲ��’s real estate team, said that the development period for a student residence is typically at least five years, whereas the CampusOne deal will have an immediate impact.

“These rooms can all now count toward the first-year residence guarantee, whereas previously they did not,” McCartney said.

Located at the corner of College and Huron Streets, CampusOne was constructed on land partially owned by ��ϲ�� that was leased to Knightstone Capital Management. It offers accommodations ranging from studio apartments to single rooms in multi-bedroom suites. Amenities include a fitness centre, game lounges, movie theatre, arts studio and quiet study rooms.

��ϲ�� Food Services operates all-day dining programs in the building.

Negotiations for the acquisition began in spring 2023 and the transaction officially closed in mid-December. However, ��ϲ�� was given the green light by CampusOne’s owners to begin placing students in the residence last summer before the deal was complete.

In addition to receiving 20 per cent of the building’s operating income, the deal will also see ��ϲ�� earn a small fee for each student it places in CampusOne.

Mabury said the agreement is the latest example of ��ϲ��’s 4 Corners Strategy, which aims to advance the university’s academic and research missions by providing high-quality innovation space, student and faculty housing, and other key services – all while generating new revenue streams through ancillary retail and other leasing agreements.

“This deal is the result of years of work – including building the Real Estate and Partnerships team and bringing real estate expertise to the table – that are now generating new opportunities for the university.”

With the launch of its first satellite, student team charts a course to new knowledge

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:44:03 +0000

With the launch of its first satellite, student team charts a course to new knowledge

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 01/19/2024 - 12:44

Cutline

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 11, 2023, carrying a satellite designed and built by the ��ϲ�� Aerospace Team (photo courtesy of SpaceX)

Safa Jinje

Topic

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Aerospace

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

Graduate Students

Space

UTIAS

Subheadline

“We worked on this project for so long with such a narrow focus that actually seeing it deployed was very rewarding”

Students in the ��ϲ��’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering recently gathered in the basement of the Sandford Fleming Building – known to many as “The Pit” – to witness the deployment of HERON Mk. II into space.

The 3U CubeSat satellite, built and operated by the space systems division of the ��ϲ�� Aerospace Team (UTAT), was launched into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket on Nov. 11, 2023 as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-9 rideshare mission that lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, Calif.

The feat was entirely student funded with support from ��ϲ�� Engineering through student levies and UTAT-led fundraising efforts.

“The experience of the launch was very surreal,” says master’s degree student Benjamin Nero, HERON’s current mission manger.

“We worked on this project for so long with such a narrow focus that actually seeing it deployed was very rewarding.”

“There are any number of things that could go wrong that might prevent a satellite from deploying,” adds Zachary Teper, a fellow master’s degree candidate who is part of the technical development team working on HERON’s ground station.

“So, watching each of the call outs coming out of the SpaceX mission control, seeing the rocket go up and meet every one of its mission objectives and then finally seeing our satellite get ejected out of the dispenser in the correct trajectory was a big relief – because we knew that it was finally in space and on the right path.”

Members of the UTAT space systems division gather on the sixth-floor roof of the Bahen Centre for Information Technology with the fully assembled ground station (photo by UTAT Space Systems)

Launching HERON – short for High frequency Educational Radio communications On a Nanosatellite – was the culmination of years of teamwork that brought together the efforts of more than 100 students.

HERON Mk. II, the second iteration of UTAT’s spacecraft, was originally designed and built between 2016 and 2018 for the fourth edition of the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. Since space systems division was formed in 2014, many of the students who worked on the initial HERON design and build have since graduated. But the current operations team continued to develop the satellite and renew the student levy that allowed them to secure their space launch.

“The original objective for HERON was to conduct a biology experiment in space,” says Nero, who joined the team in 2019 during his second year of undergraduate studies. “But because of delays in the licensing process, we were unable to continue that mission objective. So, we re-scoped and shifted our focus to amateur radio communication and knowledge building.”

From left to right: HERON Mk. I (2016), HERON Mk. II Prototype (2018), HERON Mk. II Softstack (2020), HERON Mk. II Flight Model (2021) (photos by UTAT Space Systems)

Once the satellite’s final assembly was completed in 2021, the team began flight model testing and assembling a ground station, while also managing the logistics of the regulatory approvals needed to complete the launch.

“It’s difficult to put something in space, both technically and bureaucratically,” says Nero. “There are a lot of different governments that care about what you’re doing and want to know when and how you’re doing it.”

Getting to space was a significant milestone for the team, but it’s still only the beginning of their work.

“The goal for us as a design team is to start gathering institutional knowledge that we didn’t have before,” says Reid Sox-Harris, an undergraduate student who is HERON’s ground station manager and the electrical lead for UTAT’s next space mission, FINCH (Field Imaging Nanosatellite for Crop residue Hyperspectral mapping).

“We’ve never operated a satellite. So, we’re taking a lot of lessons learned with us through this process.” 

For example, when a satellite is deployed for the first time, the ground control team only has a rough idea of its movement and eventual location. They must simulate the launch to figure out exactly where it is before they can establish a connection. And when they receive new positional data, they must rerun their simulation.

“We have to take into account effects such as air resistance, or the sun’s solar cycles and the gravitational effects of the sun, the moon and the Earth – it’s a fairly complicated simulation,” Sox-Harris says.

Nero adds: “Part of the difficulty with a simulation is that a model is only useful for a certain period. An old estimate could result in as much as a few kilometres of drift from the satellite’s actual position per day.”

HERON’s ground station on the roof of the Bahen Centre (photo by UTAT Space Systems)

The team was not only tasked with designing a ground station capable of communicating with a satellite more than 500 kilometres away, but one that can survive a frigid and snowy Canadian winter.

“For any project, the most important thing you should be doing is testing,” says second-year student Swarnava Ghosh, who primarily works on the ground station software. “One challenge with our ground station currently is that there are too many variables that are not fully tested – and everything needs to be perfect in the chain for the communication to work. If the ground station is not pointing in the right direction, we won’t get a signal and we won’t establish communication. And if the amplifier is not working, then we won’t establish communication.” 

The team is confident that they will ultimately resolve any outstanding issues and establish communications with HERON. More importantly, they will be able to take what they’ve learned and apply it to the next mission.

“With FINCH, we want to make sure the ground station software and satellite can communicate on the ground,” says Sox-Harris. “Right now, there are over 500 kilometres between the satellite and ground station, so we can’t fly up there and test whether a command has worked.”

FINCH is set to launch in late 2025 on a rideshare rocket flight. Its current mission objective is to generate hyperspectral imaging maps of crop residue on farm fields in Manitoba from a low-Earth orbit.

There are many technical developments that are new to FINCH that weren’t applicable to HERON, the team says, including a novel optic system for remote sensing that is being developed by students.

“The risks associated with FINCH are mitigated by the work that is being performed by HERON right now. We’re learning many lessons that will be directly applicable to our next mission, and we’ll continue to learn from HERON for at least another year or more,” says Sox-Harris.

“This means the FINCH mission can be more complicated, it can move faster and ultimately we can have better reliability, which is something that we always strive for in aerospace.”

��ϲ�� course on brain-machine interfaces introduces undergrads to next-gen health care

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 15:18:55 +0000

��ϲ�� course on brain-machine interfaces introduces undergrads to next-gen health care

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 01/05/2024 - 10:18

Cutline

Assistant Professor Xilin Liu, standing, guides students Mona Murphy, left, and Nishant Kumar, right, as they analyze Kumar’s EEG (photo by Matthew Tierney)

Matthew Tierney

Topic

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Electrical & Computer Engineering

University Health Network

Subheadline

“You start to look at the brain differently, the mechanisms of its disorders, what clinicians and neuroengineers are doing to treat them”

Undergraduate students taking a new ��ϲ�� course have to use their brains in more ways than one.

Called Interfacing and Modulating the Nervous System (ECE441), the course in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical engineering and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering introduces fourth-year students to neuromodulation, a multidisciplinary area that draws on knowledge about signal processing, control theory, electronics and machine learning.

Devices employing neuromodulation deliver therapeutic stimulation to targeted areas of the brain and are used to treat a range of conditions, including chronic pain, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, depression, spinal cord injuries and hearing or vision loss.

During one recent lab session, students Jannis Gabler and Aurora Nowicki said they were amazed by what they could learn after they hooked up a team member.

“We were measuring electrical activity in his visual cortex,” Gabler says. “Just by extracting data from his signature, we could tell whether his eyes were closed or not.”

The course was developed through the combined efforts of faculty members Xilin Liu and Ervin Sejdić, as well as the CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute. Support from the department included the purchase of specialized equipment – biosensing headsets that allow students to acquire an electroencephalograph (EEG) – and technical support from Afshin Poraria, director of teaching labs, and lab manager Iman Makhmal Koohi.

Liu, an assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineering department, says hands-on work is a crucial component of the course, which exposes students to neural interfacing techniques and applications at a time when many are considering graduate research or starting their career.

While he notes that universities such as MIT and Stanford University offer similar courses, he says they tend to be geared toward graduate students.

“Introducing such a course at the ECE undergraduate level is quite a unique approach,” he says. “By leveraging the strengths of ECE labs, we implemented hands-on experiments enabling students to collect, analyze and modulate their own EEG signals in real-time.”

A student holds a biosensing headset during a lab session (photo by Matthew Tierney)

The course material combines Liu’s teachings on electronics and neural interfacing technology with Sejdić’s work on signal processing, control theory and machine learning. It also includes guest lecturers with various clinical expertise. They include Milos Popovic, a professor in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME), and Taufik Valiante, a scientist at the University Health Network and an associate professor of surgery in the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine with a cross appointment at BME – both early supporters of the course.

During off-campus excursions to nearby hospitals and clinical settings, such as Toronto Western Hospital, the students hear from neurosurgeons and neuroscientists about real-world advancements in this field.

“The first lecture was one of the most interesting I’ve ever had at ��ϲ��,” Nowicki says.

“We learned early on how little we understand the brain. It’s incredibly complex,” adds Gabler.

Liu says we may never have an accurate general model of the brain, which means therapeutic determinations must be considered on patient-by-patient basis – a challenge for clinicians.

“You cannot keep people in the hospital for a long time just to monitor the progression of the disease,” Liu says. “And optimization done at the hospital might only be calibrated for the specific time of day, or might not work when they go back home, or while asleep.”

But wearable or implantable neural devices that use machine learning are ideally suited to address this challenge because they collect large amounts of data from patients over long periods of time. With this data, machine learning can learn the optimal timing and parameter configuration.

The field is growing so fast that the electrical and computer engineering department looks forward to expanding its course offerings in neurotechnology, says Deepa Kundur, a professor and department chair, who adds that this course helps build a strong foundation in the field.

“It’s an excellent example of how bringing awareness of cutting-edge applications into the classroom setting, through access to research labs and a diverse instructor team, allows students to see the incredible potential opportunities for their electrical and computer engineering skill set,” she says.

The department also plans to make equipment available to students outside the class. The instructors are working with the student club NeuroTECH to organize workshops and hands-on sessions.

Nowicki, for one, recommends the course to fellow students even if they’re not considering a future in health care.

“You start to look at the brain differently, the mechanisms of its disorders, what clinicians and neuroengineers are doing to treat them,” she says. “And so many people have friends or a family member who has experienced a disorder.”

‘Incredible leadership’: ��ϲ�� provost Cheryl Regehr leaves an enduring legacy

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 20:26:44 +0000

‘Incredible leadership’: ��ϲ�� provost Cheryl Regehr leaves an enduring legacy

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 12/19/2023 - 15:26

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health

Academics

Cheryl Regehr

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty

Graduate Students

Meric Gertler

Provost

Subheadline

In her 10 years as vice-president and provost, Regehr championed student well-being, inclusive excellence and teaching innovation

Champion of student success and wellness. Advocate for inclusive excellence. Compassionate leader in times of crisis.

This is how members of the ��ϲ�� community describe Cheryl Regehr as she prepares to step down as vice-president and provost at the end of the year – leaving a legacy that will shape ��ϲ�� for generations to come.

At a recent reception, ��ϲ�� President Meric Gertler said Regehr has “always put the ��ϲ�� first” regardless of whether she was supporting students, strengthening diversity or guiding the university community through the COVID-19 pandemic – “the worst public health crisis in a century.”

He added that Regehr’s commitment to student success and well-being was the “North Star” that guided her efforts, citing her stewardship of the transformation of mental health service delivery at the university.

“This is typical of [Provost Regehr’s] work over the past decade – acknowledging a pressing challenge, developing an action plan driven by collegial consultation and expert leadership, embracing recommendations, outlining an ambitious agenda for change, and then rolling up her sleeves to get it done with equal measures of creativity, determination and charm.”

After spending a decade leading the university’s academic mission, Regehr will return to a full-time research and teaching role as a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work on Jan. 1. She will be succeeded as ��ϲ��’s provost by Professor Trevor Young of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Regehr was first appointed vice-president and provost in September 2013, before being reappointed in January 2015 and one more time in January 2020 – racking up awards and honours along the way. She previously served as vice-provost, academic programs and as dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, where she has been a faculty member since 1999.

Regehr’s work on championing teaching excellence, experiential learning, and building a caring and supportive environment for students stand out among her many signature achievements.

Her office created the “teaching stream” professorial ranks to emphasize the importance of teaching to ��ϲ��’s academic mission, devised funding streams to support teaching innovation and launched an array of teaching fellowships and awards. It also opened the doors to many opportunities for students to gain first-hand experience in subjects through summer abroad, co-op and work-study programs.

An expert in mental health, trauma and social work practice, Regehr also recognized the unique pressures faced by university-aged youth and advanced efforts to harmonize student mental health services across the three campuses. That included more funding for mental wellness and establishing a partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to create pathways for students requiring treatment for complex mental health problems.

As a result, ��ϲ�� students can now more easily access same- or next-day counselling in-person as well as 24-7 virtual support – part of a broader push to create a “stepped model of care” that prioritizes individually tailored treatment over lengthy assessments.

“I’m extremely proud of the work we have done on student mental health,” Regehr said in a recent interview for ��ϲ��’s Defy Gravity campaign. “Youth today are under immense pressure, and the pandemic exacerbated some of those stresses … in response to this, we’ve completely redesigned our mental health services to try to make sure that students who are struggling can get the assistance they need more quickly and responsively.”

Sandy Welsh, ��ϲ��’s vice-provost, students, said Regehr’s student focus stemmed just as much from her academic expertise as it did from a “deep sense that we need to listen to our students and can always do better for them” – including thinking constantly about improving every aspect of the student experience.

“There’s this creativity and thoughtfulness that she has. For example, she thinks about how our students move through and inhabit our three campuses,” said Welsh, adding that Regehr’s interest went far beyond ensuring there were ample spots to study. “There was a focus and encouragement to all three campuses and all the academic divisions to think about creating spaces where a commuting student who’s on campus all day can just sit in a comfortable place and relax.

“For Provost Regehr, the centre of her work is always, ‘How is this helping students?’”

In that vein, Regehr also accelerated ��ϲ��’s efforts to welcome more students from underrepresented backgrounds – with the number of access and outreach programs at ��ϲ�� growing from 30 to more than 135 since 2018. “We can only be great if we ensure that every single excellent student here in the city of Toronto believes the ��ϲ�� is a place for them, a place where they belong,” Regehr said during the launch of one of those programs, SEE ��ϲ��, in 2019.

Similar strides were made when it comes to making sure ��ϲ��’s faculty members better reflect the community in which ��ϲ�� resides, with Regehr overseeing the creation of the Diversity in Academic Hiring Fund that has resulted in the addition of 190 faculty from underrepresented groups – mostly Black and Indigenous – and post-doctoral fellowship programs for Black and Indigenous scholars.

Regehr also played a key role in advancing the university’s reckoning with various forms of racism, including collaborating with Indigenous community members to build a new Office of Indigenous Initiatives to strengthen reconciliation efforts. During her tenure, ��ϲ�� set up working groups to examine anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus and provide recommendations to support the university’s response.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, Regehr oversaw ��ϲ��’s efforts to provide academic continuity and supports as the university pivoted to a virtual learning environment.

“As we moved to remote, it meant figuring out new ways of managing things and continuing to support everyone as they tried to continue with their activities – and [Provost Regehr] provided incredible leadership through that,” said Vivek Goel, who served as special adviser to ��ϲ��’s president and provost on the pandemic and is now president of the University of Waterloo.

Regehr’s responsibilities as provost were carried out alongside distinguished scholarly work. During her 10 years in the role, she authored or co-authored more than 50 papers (including a paper describing ��ϲ��’s response to the pandemic, co-authored with Goel), and editions of four books.

“While I have continued to do research while I’ve been provost, I’m looking forward to focusing even more on this,” Regehr told the Defy Gravity campaign. She noted her work will explore topics like the impact of workplace stress and trauma on decision-making and cyber-violence against public service professionals.

Welsh said Regehr’s compassion and thoughtfulness were evident in the work environment she cultivated at ��ϲ��.

“She is just a beautiful combination of being direct around the priorities you need to focus on, but also encouraging your ideas and having compassion and understanding for the people that work with her and the challenges they may face,” Welsh said.

“I’ve learned a lot from her about what it means to be an academic administrator and a senior leader at the university. I’m going to miss her.”

Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, said academic leaders across ��ϲ��’s three campuses regarded Regehr with “widespread admiration.”

“Whenever we’re together, we inevitably end up in a conversation about the amazing qualities of our provost, Cheryl Regehr,” Woodin said during a recent event to honour the provost.

Regehr, for her part, told attendees at the same event she relished working with the expansive ��ϲ�� community during her many years in Simcoe Hall.

“I have loved being part of this incredible group of brilliant people,” she said. “Academic leaders, staff, faculty… and our students – our wonderful students – all of us working together as a team to ensure we achieve our mission of being a world-class institution with a local heart.”

Wars, Diaspora & Music: ��ϲ�� courses explores the role of music during times of war

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:17:03 +0000

Wars, Diaspora & Music: ��ϲ�� courses explores the role of music during times of war

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/07/2023 - 12:17

Cutline

Simon Bikindi, right, a Rwandan singer-songwriter, is pictured with his lawyers and a United Nations guard at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2008 (photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies